The Lunar Revel
by The Silenced171
Summary: The Lunar New Year is tonight, but something goes very wrong. Prequel to Redemption.


Tonight was the Lunar New Year. There would be thousands of coins worth of fireworks going off, in dozens of different colors. It would be an extremely fun celebration for all.

Katarina saw it as a time to cause chaos. But she knew the Lunar New Year was a sacred tradition, and to ruin it meant that you were a heartless, soulless excuse for a person. But she wasn't going to ruin it by killing anyone, or causing a massive explosion from all the fireworks, she was going to just have fun and run around the city of Ionia, finding ways to climb their towers and watch the fireworks. Maybe play a few pranks or two.

She wore a white tunic, with gold flourishes and trim. She also wore red leather armor underneath it, which stuck out in a few places. She wore black slacks, also with gold highlight, and lastly, a pair of soft shoes.

It was midday right now. Parties would have already started by now, but the real fun began at sundown. That's when the fireworks came out, the _good _music, the _good _food, the _good _everything. Katarina was still on her way to Ionia. She just finished brushing her hair and putting a gold pin with a feather on it.

She grabbed her knives and put them on her back. She wasn't going to use them on people, but rather on other things like the lines that held the lanterns up.

There was one thing she liked about the Lunar Revel, and that was that she could talk to people without thinking she would be shot in the back with an arrow every minute. There was no violence in the Lunar Revel, no one died. It was all a way to possibly bring peace to Valoran. That was Ionia's plan anyway. Kat didn't know if it would ever work. King Jarvan III and Swain never got along. But it could work, and then Valoran would be the most powerful continent in Runeterra.

Katarina couldn't believe she was thinking this, but she would be happy if this caused peace between the nations. Sometimes she got tired of constantly killing people, even if it was so easy.

She heard a knocking at her chamber door. She opened it to see the captain of the ship.

"Madam du Couteau," he said, "we have arrived at the docks of Ionia. Feel free to exit the ship when you are ready."

"Okay," she said calmly, "thank you."

The captain left, shutting the door behind him. Katarina looked in the mirror to see if anything else needed fixing before exiting the room. She walked onto the deck and walked on the ramp onto the sandy shores of Ionia. She could hear people celebrating in the distance. The air smelled good, but Kat couldn't quite recognize what it would be emanating from. It was _some _sort of food. She continued to walk toward the city, examining her surroundings.

This place was much different from Noxus. Everything was more elegant, the plant life more lush and colorful. The waters were clear and the waves broke gently on the shore. This place was soothing. She liked it.

As she got to the city, she noticed the buildings were red and black in color. Their roofs had pointy corners that protruded outwards. There were people dancing in the streets around her. Some gave her a smile. She smiled back.

She wondered how these people could resist hating her. She was Noxian, they were Ionian. Noxus waged war on Ionia years before, but she still couldn't figure out why they didn't stop her and start kicking her.

She made her way to the tallest tower in the area, as some of her friends might be there, waiting for her. If not, she would just cause mischief on her own.

As she walked, brilliant smells of food filled the air. Some sweet, some savory. It made her stomach growl, but she had to meet her friends first.

She walked down the quarry road some more until she came to the tower in the center of the city. She stopped and looked around for someone, but didn't see them. She felt a blast of cold air behind her. It blew her hair. A pink arrow was stuck in the tower behind Katarina.

Kat turned around to see Ashe in a heart themed outfit. It was rather beautiful. Although, Kat didn't really like the curls that bounced around Ashe's face, but she didn't say that.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Ashe said, "you being Noxian and all."

Kat laughed.

"How you been, Ashe?"

"Good, I suppose," she said. "Although things are still rough in Freiljord. Sejuani still runs wild, as does Lissandra."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kat said sadly, "but either way, we are here now. You look nice today. What's the occasion?"

"Valentine's Day is this weekend. Thought I'd celebrate that as well."

"I see. Well now that I met you, I'm pretty hungry. Wanna go find something to eat?"

"Sure," Ashe said, smiling. "Let's go."

Yasuo never liked going to the Lunar Revel, but this year he decided he would do so. He wore a blank white t shirt, with a red poncho decorated with gold tinsel-like material. His black pants fit into his tall black boots. His sword's scabbard was decorated with the unmistakable silver of the Dragon. His sword's hilt had a gold string, tied to red cloth.

He wondered what kinds of drinks the tavern would have tonight. It was getting rather dark outside, the sun just barely above the mountains in the distance. He noticed several little children gasp at his voluminous hair, and reach out to try and touch his sword. He simply grinned and moved on.

There was bound to be a crowd near the clocktower at this hour, since the sun was just barely above the peaks. They would be getting ready to set off the fireworks. Instead of doing that, he was going to the gardens.

They had always soothed him, as the green grass seemed to flow in the breeze. The cherry blossom trees' petals always flew around him.

As he got there, he didn't notice anyone here, which pleased him, as he liked to be alone. He climbed up to the top of the hill, and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, then looked at the pink skies, watching the sun finally fall below the mountains. The sky turned a sudden, darker shade of pink before Yasuo pulled out his sword. The moon came out, and its light reflected off of his flawless, steel blade.

He closed his eyes, and began a sort of dance, moving from sword position to sword position. He felt a breeze around him, a storm gathering. Cherry blossom petals swirled around him in a pink tornado. Finally, he unleashed it, watching the petals all fall to the ground very suddenly. He rested his blade before him, and pulled out his flute.

He began to play a number of slow songs from Lunar New Year tradition, all happy sounding, yet sad sounding at the same time. The wind picked up again, but this time less intense, as if it were flowing with the music.

But he felt a disturbance in the wind around him. He stopped playing and opened his eyes. He sensed three men behind him. A flurry of petals filled the area as he grabbed his blade and spun around to meet them.

The three of them kept their faces hidden, and they each had two knives in their hands.

"Yasuo," they said, "we knew we would find you here. This is where your story began, no?"

"What do you guys want from me? I will not fight you. Not on the night of the Lunar New Year. Come back to me tomorrow."

"Ah, but your blood is demanded to be spilled today, on the slopes of the hill from which you came."

"By who?"

"It isn't important, as you won't live to find out."

The three of them lunged at him, blades ready. Yasuo seemed to move with the wind, gracefully parrying each strike. They tried again and again, but they couldn't break Yasuo's defense. He was too quick, too agile.

"You will run out of energy soon, swordsman."

"Not while you remain," Yasuo said.

He continued to parry and dodge their attacks. He couldn't kill them, or else he would be known across the lands as a murderous man, and wouldn't ever reclaim his honor.

Yasuo gathered the wind around him, built it up. The flower petals swirling around them, creating a wall that couldn't be seen through, then they collapsed inward, causing a blizzard effect. Yasuo managed to run out unnoticed.

"What was that about?" Yasuo asked himself. A firework went off. He looked behind him before heading into the city. If he were attacked there, there would be witnesses that would prevent Yasuo from being named guilty.

He walked along the quarry road, glancing over his back from time to time to see if he was being followed. He couldn't feel anything with the wind. He returned to the clocktower plaza, where the partying was happening. Many people danced, drank wine and laughed. Yasuo even saw a crowd around Braum and his poro. He smirked. He saw a feminine silhouette sliding across a line on the rooftops, along with a white-haired girl behind her.

"Must be Ashe," Yasuo said. "Although I don't know who the other one would be."

Yasuo stood alone in the crowd, although his hair made him extremely distinctive. He spotted the men that had tried to kill him earlier. He weaved through the crowd in order to get away before they spotted him. He made his way down an empty alley, glancing behind him. He was in a small clearing. He leaned against a wall and tried listening to anyone that could have been coming. He looked up and saw a man fiddling with a card in his hand. It seemed to change color somehow, but Yasuo paid no attention to him.

The people were indeed coming down the alleyway. He could hear the clanking of their blades. He heard one of them shout some orders. The man with the card looked up. The three men came into the clearing and found Yasuo.

"Ha!" One shouted. "We found you, murderer."

The man through a yellow card, that one of the men sliced in half.

"Ha! Cards won't hurt me."

The yellow card disintegrated into the ground. Yellow chains reached up and grabbed the three men by the forearm and pulled them to the ground. They couldn't move.

"The chains won't last long," the card man said, "you have to go."

Yasuo nodded and left the alleyway, looking behind him, trying to see the man's face who had just saved him. But he couldn't pick anything out but his glowing blue eyes. His clothes were definitely not from around here, either. Maybe Bilgewater.

Yasuo caught four more men chasing him. They didn't know where Yasuo was, but he didn't think it would be that way for long. He pushed people aside as he made his way out of the crowd. He felt a little guilty for disrupting their firework show.

Katarina had lost Ashe. She had picked out Yasuo from about a mile away. His hair was so poofy that it wasn't hard to do so. She saw that some very suspicious looking guys were chasing him, and decided it would be interesting to see what was going on. She had tracked him via rooftop, and even saw the way Twisted Fate had saved Yasuo by chaining up the bad guys. But the chains did break, but Fate was long gone by that time.

She tracked Yasuo to the fireworks department. There were so many explosives in there, it would be hard to keep the place from becoming nothing but a mushroom cloud. But Yasuo had gone inside to avoid his attackers, and Kat had to follow. Only, she had reached an entrance, and Ashe was not behind her anymore.

"Come on," Kat whispered. "Well, Ashe, I hope you are okay."

Kat opened the doors to the fireworks place, and gasped when she stepped in. There were so many inside, it would cover the whole night's length. Some type of magic kept an infinite firework show going on the roof, a collage of colors exploding.

"Now," she said, "where are you Yasuo?"

The door behind her was being opened. She cursed and dove out of the way, behind a crate. She was pretty sure it would explode if some fire was added.

Two people came in the building and grabbed the crate two down from hers. The other person grabbed the crate next to hers. The other man came back in, and Kat's heart started pounding. The man wandered around the crate Kat was behind, debating on whether or not to take it. Then he walked away and grabbed a different one.

Katarina sighed in relief and waited until the two men left with the fireworks before leaving its cover. She spotted a staircase and ran up it. She heard creaking in the wood above her.

"Yasuo," she whispered.

She ran up more stairs and stopped before a tall wooden door. She heard something inside, but the door was so soundproof that she couldn't make anything out. She tried the doorknob, but it was locked.

Kat cursed as she backed up. She ran into the door, breaking it down, and falling to the floor in the process.

Yasuo was indeed inside, along with five of the suspicious men laying dead at his feet.

He had his sword across his lap, his eyes were closed and his head was low.

"Come," he said. "Punish me for my actions against the traditions of the Lunar Revel."

"I'm not going to punish you," Katarina said. "I was going to try and help you, though. It looks like you don't need it."

"I suppose," he said grimly, "but someone will make me pay eventually. Death is always by my side."

"Stop with the death. We need to get out of here, and quickly. You didn't use a wind technique to kill them, right?"

"I don't make the same mistake twice."

"Then let's go."

But they heard screaming outside. They ran outside to see the Blood Moon appear high in the sky.

"Oh, no," Kat said.

In the city, Thresh was reaping souls from the townsfolk.

"Yes," he said. "I am a soulless, heartless person that has no honor for your traditions."

Elise was there, too, ripping people to shreds with her spider minions. Akali did the same, although Kat figured the Blood Moon was making her act against her will. Same thing with Shen. They were both residents of Ionia. Kalista rained spears from above.

"We will have to find a way to take them out," Kat said. "Or else they won't stop until the city is dead."

"Agreed." Yasuo said. "I will take Thresh. He won't take my soul."

"I got Akali."

Yasuo dashed straight towards Thresh. His sword was out. Yasuo cut the lantern from its chain.

"Fool!" Thresh said. "You will unleash them all!"

As he said it, red souls flew out of the lantern, swirling in the air, adding an even more eerie feel to the red sky.

"That way you can't take anymore of them."

Thresh swung his scythe, but Yasuo dodged it with ease. He took swings when he could, unleashing a red light if he cut anything.

"I am eternal," Thresh said. "Even if you manage to kill me, I will reappear in the Shadow Isles, lantern in my hand. I will return, with time."

Yasuo stabbed Thresh through the stomach, releasing an eerie hiss. Thresh crumpled to the ground. His soul flew into the air and joined the others in the sky.

"At least you won't bother anyone until you return."

Spears landed in the ground around him. Kalista was targeting him. He ran toward the building she was on and climbed his way up. She threw spears at him, but his wind wall blew them away. Shen came from behind him, cutting his leg.

Yasuo groaned and fell on his knees. Kalista raised a spear to finish Yasuo, but a spear emerged from her stomach. A cougar jumped on her and used its massive claws to rip her to shreds. The cougar had gold jewelry on its white fur. It sat down, and a green mist surrounded it. A feminine body emerged. Nidalee. She had a red, sleeveless shirt on, long red socks and boots. Her hair was tied back in a long ponytail.

"Thank you," Yasuo said, "I made a stupid mistake, didn't listen to the wind. Otherwise I would have countered his attack."

"You are welcome, Yasuo." Her hand glowed red as Yasuo's wound stitched itself together. "The Blood Moon is not a time to be making enemies."

"Agreed," Yasuo said. "Elise, the spider still lives. We must hunt her down in order to end this treachery."

"I will be on the rooftops, scouting for her."

"Okay, I will go down in the streets. Watch my back. If I get tangled in a web, I need you to take her out with a spear."

"So you are the bait, in a way."

"I guess you could say that."

Yasuo jumped down to the ground level. The streets were empty now. The townsfolk would all be evacuating to the mainland by now. That would just make the hunt for Elise easier.

He walked down the streets slowly, keeping very calm. It was as if he were walking on the beach while the sun was setting. He walked, but he was stopped at an alleyway.

Kat came out, bleeding in several places. She was limping, but she finally collapsed to the ground. She whimpered as she raised her hand to Yasuo.

Yasuo groaned. He almost considered leaving her, because if he did, he would catch Elise. But he couldn't. He picked her up from her legs and her back. She was almost dead weight. He put her arm around him.

"Nidalee!" He cried. "If you can hear me, Kat is hurt! I must find a way to heal her! Go on without me, find the Spider."

He hoped for the best and turned around. He ran towards the nearest hospital. He didn't know much about healing, but he used health potions enough in the League to know enough to sustain Katarina.

He kicked open the door to the hospital. It was abandoned, as Yasuo expected. He lied Kat's limp body on a table, then opened a cabinet to look for any medicine. Kat's face was turning pale.

"Come on," Yasuo said. "Did you guys really take _all _the medicine?" He continued to scour the place, but he couldn't find anything. Kat was pointing towards something, but Yasuo couldn't pick out what. Then he saw a glint of light. He ran over and picked it up. It was a health potion, half empty.

"This better work."

He ran over to Katarina and helped her drink the red liquid. She passed out, but color returned to her face.

"Alright, Kat, I am going to leave you here. I'll uh, lock the door and stuff, except for, I kicked it down."

He mumbled to himself on what he would do. If he left her here, he would have to do something to protect her. Elise could easily walk in and kill her in her vulnerable state.

He walked outside, picked up the door and put a board on it. He hammered nails to the door and the wall, so that it would stay up. He ran to the gardens, where Elise would no doubt be hiding.

As he got there, he saw he was right. Nidalee and Elise faced each other. They walked in a classic circle, but Yasuo managed to not be seen.

He was about to attack, but a woman stopped him. Akali.

"Scurry back to your shadows, ninja."

He raised her blades and attacked, but Yasuo easily dodged her attempt. He swung at her, slicing her back. She turned around and tried to hit him, but he simply moved out of the way, cutting her again.

"You won't survive." She said.

"Funny thing you should say that, as you haven't even managed to touch me."

But she simply smiled. Yasuo knew something was wrong, but it was too late. A chain wrapped around him, pulling him to the ground.

He rolled over to see Thresh there, laughing. Him and Akali stood before him. ]

Kat woke up on a table in some building. She was half-conscious before she fell, nearly dead before Yasuo's feet. He obviously took care of her as best he could. She was awake. She had a headache, but other than that her wounds were minor. She knew that since Yasuo wasn't here, he was probably fighting Elise. But still, she got the feeling that something was wrong.

She stood up, grabbing her knives and walked to the door. She tried the doorknob, but the door wouldn't open. It wasn't locked, just stuck. She could see the tips of nails barely showing through the door. It was nailed shut.

Kat kicked the door down and laughed.

"Anyone could have gotten inside," she said.

She grabbed her dagger and ran towards the garden. She had a feeling that something bad was happening there, and maybe that was because red souls were swirling over that location. She ran, despite the pain in her legs.

She could see Yasuo fighting Akali, the person that had injured her. However, Yasuo couldn't see Thresh behind him. Thresh threw his chain, tangling Yasuo in it. Kat was getting closer. Akali raised her blade. Yasuo simply looked at her. Kat wasn't going to make it in time. She saw petals from the cherry blossom trees swirling around him. Akali brought her blade down.

"No!" Kat cried.

"Hasagi," Yasuo said very quietly. Akali's arm was blown away, the blade along with it. Her and Thresh were knocked into the air. Yasuo drew his blade and performed three swift strikes with his blade, and knocking them onto the ground.

Akali and Thresh lied dead. Their souls hovered above their bodies before going into Thresh's lantern. Then the red light that emanated from within it died. A hurricane seemed to be swirling around Yasuo as he dashed towards Elise. Her and Nidalee had several injuries from the other. Katarina was still much behind all of them.

Yasuo quickly attacked the spider, with an amazing flow, so much that all his attacks were connected smoothly and gracefully. The spider quickly died, and the wind around Yasuo did as well. He sheathed his blade and sat down, with his back to a cherry tree. He pulled out his gold flute and played a sad tune.

Katarina and Nidalee stood silently, listening to the sound that filled the air. The red shade in the moon returned to its usual white. Thresh, Elise and Akali all faded into shadow, which flew into the sky.

Three men came into the garden boundaries. They were Ionian guards.

"Is everything alright?" One asked. But he stopped as he saw the three of them silent.

"Did the Unforgiven cause this? We must arrest him."

The three men picked Yasuo up, and he went willingly.

"Wait!" Katarina cried. "It isn't his fault. We were attacked, by the thralls of the Blood Moon. Yasuo saved us, saved Ionia."

"Is this true, Nidalee?" The guard asked.

She hesitated.

"It is," she said. "Yasuo is the reason we all live today."

The guards hesitated, but they released the swordsman.

"Then you are free to go, Yasuo."

That night, the fireworks returned to the sky. People celebrated again. The Blood Moon wouldn't bother them anymore. Food was eaten, wine was drank.

Yasuo sat at the top of the clocktower. He watched the people of Ionia celebrate. His legs hung over the edge. He had his flask next to him, halfway filled with Ionian wine.

"Hey," Katarina said. Yasuo jumped. She sat next to him.

"I just wanted to thank you for what you did back there. Not saving the town, which is also really great… but for saving me."

"I couldn't leave you."

"Still, will you accept my thanks?"

Yasuo hesitated.

"You're welcome."

"For an exile," she said, "you aren't so bad."

Yasuo grunted, then looked at her. He stood up, and was about to leave, but Katarina hugged him. It was awkward, but Yasuo hugged her back. As they let go, Kat brushed a kiss on his cheek, then jumped off the tower.

Yasuo smiled and watched the fireworks.

Katarina hit the ground and waded through the crowd. She saw Ashe. She ran towards her.

"Ashe!" She said. "Where have you been?"

"Well," she said, "after you ran off, I decided to go have a drink. Then the Blood Moon happened, so I helped people get on the evacuation ships. We were just leaving as Yasuo saved the town, so we turned back around."

"I see."

"How about we enjoy the night, eh?" Kat said.

"Let's go cause some trouble," Ashe said.

"Now that's what I like to hear."


End file.
